In recent years, cyclosporin is in use for suppressing rejection developed in transplanting organs. Inclusive of the compounds currently under development, the so-called immunosuppressants are expected to be useful as therapeutic agents for articular rheumatism and so on. Said cyclosporin, however, also possesses problems of side effects such as renal disorders.
Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 104087/1989 discloses that an immunosuppressive substance is obtained from a liquid culture of Isaria sinclairii and said substance has been confirmed to be (2S,3R,4R)-(E)-2-amino-3,4-dihydroxy-2-hydroxymethyl-14-oxoicosa-6-enoic acid of the formula ##STR2## disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,928,572. In addition, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 128347/1991 states that a series of said compound has an immunosuppressive action.
Referring to Merck Index, 11th edition, it is described that 2-amino-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (Index No. 460), 2-amino-2-ethyl-1,3-propanediol (Index No. 451) and 2-amino-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol (also called as tromethamine, Index No. 9684) can be used as intermediates for surface-active agents and pharmaceuticals, emulsifying agent or gas adsorbents and that tromethamine is medically usable as an alkalizer. In Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 416/1987, a hair dye containing 2-amino-2-(C1-C5 alkyl)-1,3-propanediol is disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,218 and J. Med. Chem., vol.33, 2385-2393 (1990) teach 2-amino-2-(methyl or ethyl)-1,3-propanediol as a synthetic intermediate for an antitumor agent. Also, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 192962/1984 teaches that the aforementioned 2-amino-2-(C1-C5 alkyl)-1,3-propanediol or 2-amino-1,3-propanediol can be used as a stabilizer for an antigen or antibody-sensitized latex reagent. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,839 teaches 2-methyl- or ethyl-amino-2-(furylmethyl, phenylmethyl or phenylmethyl substituted by lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, chloro, hydroxy or unsubstituted amine)-1,3-propanediol having a tranquilizing action and J. Org. Chem., vol.25, 2057-2059 (1960) teaches 2-methylamino-2-(phenylmethyl or phenylmethyl substituted by 2-methyl, 3-methyl, 4-methyl, 4-methoxy or 4-hydroxy)-1,3-propanediol. Eur. J. Med. Chem. vol.25, 35-44 (1990) teaches a substituted ethylenediamine such as 3-(4-methoxyethoxyphenyl)-1,2-diaminopropane, 5-phenyl-1,2-diaminopentane, 6-phenyl-1,2-diaminohexane, can be used as a ligand of a platinum (II) complex having antitumor activity. Moreover, WO92/16236 teaches sphingosine derivatives useful as membrane penetration enhancer. It has not been known, however, that these compounds have immunosuppressive actions such as suppression of rejection developed in organ transplantation, and prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases.
WO94/08943 discloses 2-amino-1,3-propanediol compounds having immunosuppressive action. Moreover, in Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, vol.5, No.8, 853-856 (1995), 2-amino-2-2-(4-octylphenyl)ethyl!propane-1,3-diol hydrochloride (hereinafter sometimes referred to as FTY720) as a novel synthetic immunosuppressant is disclosed, and in ibid., vol.5, No.8, 847-852 (1995), 2-amino-2-tetradecylpropane-1,3-diol as an immunosuppressant is disclosed.
An object of the present invention is to provide novel benzene compounds useful as pharmaceuticals, and having superior immunosuppressive action with less side effects.
Another object of the present invention is to provide pharmaceuticals containing said compounds.